China’s Rural Consumer Market Gains Momentum via Policy-Enabled Trade-Ins

In early February, Zou Lihua, a resident of Xitun Village, Dachangshan Island, Changhai County, Dalian, Liaoning Province, received a large-screen TV purchased by her son online. Benefiting from national subsidies and the platform’s trade-in scheme, the final price was reduced by over 500 yuan, bringing much delight to the elderly woman who had always lived frugally.

Her experience reflects the accelerating momentum of consumer trade-ins in China’s county and rural areas this year. Data from the e-commerce platform shows that sales of major home appliances such as air conditioner sets and wall‑mounted washing machines in these regions have surged by more than six times year‑on‑year. Orders for subsidised TVs, air conditioners and refrigerators in remote rural areas of Heilongjiang, Hunan, Guizhou and other provinces have also seen a substantial increase.

Against the backdrop of the 2026 Government Work Report, which highlights “stimulating consumption vitality in 下沉 markets” as part of special actions to boost consumption, the smooth implementation of consumer trade‑in policies in rural areas has become a focal point.

Cao Peng, Chairman of the Technical Committee of JD Group, pointed out that while the policies have delivered positive outcomes, certain bottlenecks persist in county and rural areas. These include insufficient publicity, a lack of special funds for guidance, and inadequate qualification of offline stores. As a result, many rural consumers have failed to access the dividends of technological advancements and policy benefits. He proposed strengthening publicity for national subsidies in rural areas, establishing a special fund pool for such subsidies, relaxing the eligibility criteria for offline entities participating in the schemes, and making concerted efforts to invigorate the rural consumer market.

Lv Shenghua, Deputy Secretary‑General of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, noted that with the implementation of national subsidies this year, more rural consumers will be able to improve their quality of life, stimulating consumption vitality and injecting fresh impetus into rural revitalisation. He added that urban consumers have already developed the habit of claiming subsidies online. However, the popularity of promotional activities has led to delays in subsidy claims in some regions. It is crucial to maintain the convenience of online subsidy claiming to ensure that established user groups continue to engage in such consumption.

Wang Wei, a second‑level researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council and former Director of the Institute of Market Economy, analysed that there are obvious differences between rural and urban home appliance markets in terms of product functions, usage scenarios and sales service channels. To promote trade‑ins and stimulate rural consumption, more targeted policies are required. He suggested providing preferential funding for rural trade‑ins, expanding subsidy coverage through online‑offline integration, precisely defining product ranges suitable for rural markets, and enriching product options to overcome challenges in rural home appliance trade‑ins.

Jia Nan, former Deputy Director of the National Bureau of Statistics, emphasised the role of e‑commerce platforms. Leveraging their mature supply chain infrastructure and technical capabilities to support subsidy schemes in rural areas can rapidly promote inclusive pricing, facilitate county‑level consumption upgrading, drive the development of county‑level e‑commerce, and improve the county‑level digital economy ecosystem. He advocated for a model of “online traffic attraction + offline infrastructure enhancement + county‑level adaptation”, optimising fund allocation and service systems to ensure that policy benefits reach rural consumers while boosting county‑level 实体 development, logistics improvement and employment stability, achieving a two‑way empowerment of county‑level consumption upgrading and economic development.

Cao Peng further recommended setting up a special fund pool for rural subsidy schemes, earmarking funds from the overall subsidy pool to support rural markets and encourage eligible entities with rural coverage capabilities to participate. Relaxing the eligibility criteria for offline entities will enable more township physical stores to provide convenient services for rural consumers. He also called for the participation of more standard‑operating small and medium‑sized enterprises, bringing county and rural home appliance and 3C digital stores without subsidy qualifications into the scope of national subsidies, thereby benefiting more rural consumers and increasing local social zero consumption.

In 2025, JD invested nearly 30 billion yuan in township and lower‑level areas, covering commodity subsidies, logistics performance, and the construction of offline service outlets. Its nearly 100,000 township service stations across the country have become important nodes for undertaking subsidy schemes, enabling villagers to enjoy trade‑in services synchronised with urban areas right at their doorsteps.

Zhao Yanfeng, Vice President of Haier Group and General Manager of Haier Smart Home China, stated that in 2026, Haier and JD will leverage the platform’s omnichannel coverage, efficient offline subsidy verification, and county‑level service network advantages to bridge urban and rural consumption and service links, improving the convenience and user experience of trade‑ins. They will promote the high‑end, intelligent and green upgrading of the home appliance industry, facilitating the implementation of consumer trade‑in policies in rural areas.

Yin Zhixin, President of Hisense China, pointed out that the demand for green and smart home appliances in rural markets is continuously rising. However, due to insufficient service coverage and poor information accessibility, policy dividends have not been fully released. Going forward, it is necessary to rely on the omnichannel advantages of e‑commerce platforms, continue to increase consumer trade‑in policies, and optimise the subsidy distribution mechanism. This will enable tens of millions of consumers to “access subsidies quickly and stably”, truly realising multi‑party coordination and win‑win results of “policies benefiting farmers, platform empowerment, and brand responsibility”.

With the joint efforts of the government, platforms and enterprises, the consumer trade‑in schemes are steadily advancing in rural areas, bringing tangible improvements to rural residents’ lives and injecting sustained momentum into rural revitalisation.